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1.0 out of 5 stars
Author is a victim of his sources., August 5, 2003
This review is from: The Black Hawk War, Why (Paperback)
Author Lloyd H. Efflandt's obvious admiration for Black Hawk --fueled by a limited bibliography of less-than-objective sources--results in a booklet that is long on opinion but short on facts. Mr. Efflant tells only one side of the story as he relates the tale of events that led up to the Black Hawk War of 1832. Apparently, the research only went as deep as his sources. For example, he alleges that the militia had a 2-1 advantange at the Battle of Pecatonica (they didn't) and that Gen. Henry and Col. Dodge gained "no appreciable advantage" at the battle of Wisconsin Heights.. which is arrant nonsense. Sprinkled in the author's prose are annoying retorical questions and statements of opinions unsupported by facts or further explaination. Mr. Efflant has predetermined the outcome of his story, and rather be led by the facts, he relates those facts which support his conclusion, and omits facts that do not support his conclusion.
Mr. Efflandt apparently had a distinguished military career, which makes the skewed, non-military nature of this paticular work all the more puzzling. Mr. Efflandt's "Lincoln in the Black Hawk War" is frankly a better publication than this one.
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